For Now
by KawaiiGirl1215
Summary: SAO Genderbend: Asuno and Kirita have a partnership again, and it involves sandwiches. Fluff, if you squint. (Please excuse bad title.)


This is my first Genderbend! Tell me what you think, and enjoy!

SAO Genderbend requested by Shiranai Atsune

* * *

"So what did you make this time?"

"Not telling."

"Is it… something with meat?"

"Nope."

"Something with cream?"

"Nope."

"Is it a sandwich?"

"...Maybe."

Kirita gasped with excitement, imagining the the spicy aroma of one of Asuno's own sandwiches… she wondered if there would be any soy sauce in it…

Asuno watched on with an amused smile.

To an unknowing eye, the pair would look like a quiet couple having a nice evening. However, there was hardly an eye that didn't know Asuno the Lightning Flash and Kirita the Black Swordswoman, and that was what made the scene astonishing.

Not many people knew, but the two had first met at the very first boss fight of Sword Art Online. After, they had went their separate ways.

Asuno had become the vice-president of the biggest guild in the game, The Knights of the Blood. He had the entire female population of SAO swooning over him. Strangely enough, and only Kirita knew this, but he had never played a MMO in his life.

Kirita was a different story. Ever the experienced MMO player, she'd left Asuno after the first-floor boss fight, and was a known beta-tester and "cheater," or, beater. She looked tough and aloof at first glance, but was surprisingly kind. Plus, no one would've ever expected one of the best players in the entire game to be, well… a _girl_.

The two couldn't possibly be more different. But they knew a lot about each other, because of their temporary party at the start of SAO.

And the only way to Kirita's heart was through…

"Sandwiches!" Kirita breathed, watching the man in front of her materialize them from his storage.

Asuno watched Kirita curiously as she took a big bite of the first sandwich, sighing in delight.

Unbeknownst to her, Asuno had grown a liking towards the strong girl. She didn't go weak-kneed when she saw him, and was even better than him at sword fighting (she taught him the basics, after all). And the one thing she definitely trumped him in was experience.

When Asuno put on the NerveGear, he didn't really know what to expect. His brother had bought it but hadn't been there to use it on the premiere day, and he had simply thought it would be a waste not to use it. But Asuno always found himself wondering if that was the real reason he'd put on the VR machine. Maybe it was a yearning for a new place to explore. Or maybe it was to get away from his life, full of arranged marriages, and good grades, and even better impressions.

He would always be the model child, the one that other parents would whisper about to their children, telling them they should be like him.

He was snapped out of his thoughts as Kirita blissfully sighed once more.

Kirita… the girl never ceased to amaze him.

They'd been through a lot together, even if they'd only known each other for little less than a year. And even as they'd gone their separate ways - Asuno going on to lead an entire guild, Kirita being the solo player she always was, somehow every time they turned around, there the other would be, lurking around the corner.

Kirita spied Asuno staring into space, lost in thought. She wondered if he was thinking about home.

In SAO, it was impolite to speak of your life outside the game, but she couldn't help but wonder how Asuno's had been. After all, he was an amazing swordsman - but had never played a game before in his life. What kind of person would you have to be, to be that talented?

Kirita wasn't jealous whatsoever. It was true. She knew she defied a lot of social expectations, and ignored the hushed conversations and raised eyebrows as she would come first in in-game competitions again and again. They couldn't help it - no one expected a girl to be the best player in a _game_ , of all things.

So she'd put on her black coat, walked with an air of superiority, and remembered that whenever the word "beater" rang through the crowd, they were talking about her. Kirita tried to remember that she had asked to be a beater, and that she was doing it for a reason, but sometimes the controlled glares that followed her as she walked became a little too tiring.

But this was where she was now, and she'd make the best of it. She didn't have any regrets. Now wasn't the time for that, not when people were dying.

But if there was one thing she'd ever wanted to see, it was the growth of Asuno from ignorant MMO-player, to boss-fight strategist. Kirita had promised herself that she _would_ be there to see it, and she did.

Kirita sighed and dusted off her hands. Breadcrumbs flew from her fingerless black gloves and fell on the stone ground below.

"Was it good?"

Kirita turned towards the man who'd been occupying her thoughts, and let out a contented smile.

"It was amazing! What skill level are you in Cooking?" she asked. She would never understand why someone so talented would keep a skill slot of cooking, but she wasn't complaining.

"I, uh… I maxed it out four days ago."

Kirita blinked.

" _What?!_ " she yelled. "You maxed it out?!"

"Yeah," Asuno said sheepishly. "At least it was worth it - if the sandwiches were good."

He continued, "But anyway, I maxed it out and that's why I need you to keep up your end of the deal."

"Right," Kirita responded, swiping her index and middle fingers downwards and opening up her menu. "Of course." A map materialized out of her inventory.

"Right, so these are the quests where you can get ingredients," she started saying, pointing to the different quest markers.

"This one is just an egg, if you're okay with that. You just have to take the egg from a dragon, only the egg isn't a baby dragon yet, it's just an egg. It's like a real egg - I put it on the map because you can still cook it. Oh, but here's a little tougher. You have to solve this old man's mystery, and the reward is this large duck meat… if you want a tip, I think I did this one in the beta test. Check the windows first - you'll understand if you do the quest. It isn't that long, actually…"

Asuno watched with a smile, as she chattered on about dragon eggs and duck meat. A few strands of soft black hair had fallen over her shoulder as she gestured animatedly, and without thinking, Asuno tucked them behind her ear again.

Kirita stopped, glancing at Asuno, who was frozen onto the bench. "S-Sorry," he whispered, wincing at his stupidity and shying away from her.

"Ah, it's okay," she said, albeit shakily. "Don't worry about it."

Both tried to quell the something blossoming in their chests, threatening to overtake their beings. Both shoved it deep down and tried to cover it up with false cheer.

"Right, so!" Kirita said brightly. "Here are your quests for the last floor! I'll have this floor's by next week, so make me something delicious!"

"Yup," Asuno said awkwardly. "Maybe the dragon egg…"

They shared a smile, the ball writhing in their chests once more. They had a partnership, mutually beneficial, and for now, that was all they wanted it to be. Someday though, someday far in the future, the two would share a moment in a canyon, after Kirita would almost lose her life, and they would be forever changed.

But for now, they were okay just being the Lightning Flash and the Black Swordswoman, eating sandwiches on the 47th floor of Aincrad.


End file.
